Hydraulic punch and die unit



R. B. GORHAM HYDRAULIC PUNCH AND DIEUNIT March 22, 1938.

Filed May 25, 1956" '3 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY.

March 22, 1938.

R. B. GORHAM f HYDRAULIC PUNCH AND DIE UNIT Filed May- 25A, 1936INVENTOR.

I l oram HJM' 1 f/w ATTORNEY.

. 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Mrch 22, 1938. R. B. GORHAM HYDRAULIC PUNCH AND DIEUNIT l' Fil'ed May '25, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 22, 1938 :e RAC PCH .i iph B. Germ; Detroit, ch., asser toMidwest Production lEngineering,linc., Detroit, Mich., a corporation orMichigan Application May 25, 1936, Serial No. 81,603

d Claims. (Cl. 16d-95) This invention relates to hydraulic punch and dieunits, the object being to provide a new and unique arrangement of punchparts for cooperation with a die in which the punch is actuatedhydraulically to perform the piercing operation and a control meanstherefor whereby the punch is caused to be withdrawn from the dielikewise by hydraulic pressure.

The invention further seeks to provide a frame for the assembly of aseries of piercing units in the desired relationship for forming aseries of holes in predetermined relation in a sheet metall part andwherein the punches of the units thus assembled on the framework aresimultaneously actuated to perform the piercing step and through controlmeans are simultaneously withdrawn for a succeeding operation.

A further feature and object of the invention is to provide a punchelement actuatable by hydraulic pressure to perform a piercing operationor be withdrawn therefrom and wherein the punch proper is carried by aslide block in its reciprocable movement and thus maintained constantlyin alignment with the die and held from rotation in respect thereto.

These and other objects and various novel features of the invention arehereinafter more fully described and claimed and the preferred ioi'm o1a hydraulic piercing unit embodying my invention and the assembly o suchunits upon a common frame are shown in the accompanying drawing inwhichi Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing my improved punch.

Fig. 2 is an elevation taken from the right side of Fig. i..

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section of the punch.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view thereof.

Fig. 5 is a View from the bottom end showing the face of/ the punch andthe guide block carrying the same.

Fig. 6 isa view of a series of units carried by a frame to be utilizedin piercing the fender of an automobile body. Y

Fig. 'l is a plan view of a control unit showing a ported manuallycontrolled valve ior causing duid to iiow to actuate the punch in itspiercing operation.

Fig. 8 is a similar view showing the valve set to cause flow of uidunder pressure to withdraw the punch. f

Fig. 9 is a cross section of the contro valve.

It is firstly to be understood that in any installation of a single or aseries of punches involving my invention, a pump I of anyapprovedcharacter isuprovided and operated by a motor indicated by thedotted lines The discharge fluid from the pump passes through theconduit 3 to the displaced by movement of the punches as hereinaftermore fully described. 10

I n'its unitary form as shown in Section in Fig. 3, the conduit t opensto the top and the conduit 6a opens to the bottom ofthe cylinder iii.These two conduits correspond to the conduits t and t of Figs. 6. 7 and8 in which the control valve is shown. This valve is herediagrammatically shown partially in dotted lines and includes a pistonvalve t `controlled by a handle it and slides in a. cylinder i i in thebody.

The discharge conduit 3 from the pump opens into the side of the valvebody t and opens into the cylinder il. therein at two points @a and 9bshown in dotted lines in Figs. '1 and 8 at spaced points longitudinallyof the cylinder wall. The

piston valve t has an aperture i2 transversely 25* thereof and opensthrough the valve t on opposite sides and in the position of the valveshown in Fig. 'I the discharge line 3 is in communication with the lineE through the branch 9 and cross aperture i2. The valve also has anaperture it 30 in its endv which extends longitudinally thereof for ashort distance and terminates in the surface of the valve at' theopeningit as shown in Fig. 9. In the position of the valve shown in I in the`other end of the valve t. Fluid therefore passes through the pressureconduit t to theline t of Fig. 8 or te of Fig. 3.

In order to move the piston 2t upwardly in the cylinder il from theposition shown in Fig. 3 and to cause like movement of the pistons inthe units shown in Fig. 6, the valve t is shifted from the positionshown in Fig. 7 to the position shown in Fig. 8. in so doing, the.passageway l2 extending transversely of the valve body is aligned withthe outlet 8b of the pressure conduit t and with the outlet ci the valvebody to which the conduit t or t ot Figs. 6 and 3 is connected whichapplies pressure through the line t or t to the under side of thepiston, Vand the fluid in the upper part of the cylinders is dischargedthrough the conduit t or d of the respective views passes into theopposite end of the cylinder ii and opposite end of the valve 'from thatto whiehthe conduit E or discharged as aforesaid.- This piston valve hasan L shaped conduit in its end wall I5 which in the position of thepiston shown in Fig. 8 opens to the port I4 in the wall of the valvecylinder to which the return line 1 is connected. Thus, by manualmovement of the piston valve, fluid under pressure may be discharged tothe conduit 5 or 5e and then through the conduit 6 or 6e to reverse themovement of the pistons. With this explanation of the hydrauliccontroL-.lt will be realized that the piston 20 in the cylinder 2l shownmore clearly in Fig. 3 may be reciprocated by fluid pressure developedby .the pump in the casing I which may apply fluid under pressure to oneline 5 or 6 and then to the other line 5a or 6 depending upon thedirection it is desired to move the piston.

The invention here disclosed is a hydraulically controlled piercingpunch and the construction thereof is best illustra-ted in Figs. 1, 2and 3. 'Ihe structure consists of a casting 22 having a base part 23 and24 and the portion 23 may be bolted to the frame indicated in dottedlines at 25 in Fig. 1. The upper end oi' the casting is bored to providethe cylinder 2l and is provided with a removable end cap 26 throughwhich the conduit lia extends to the interior of the cylinder.

The piston may be of any approved form here shown as oi. the doublecupped leather type. The bottom of the cylinder is recessed as at 2l andthe conduit te is threaded into an aperture leading tothe recess so thatoil under pressure passing through the conduit Se is introduced to theopen side of the lower cupped element and forces the piston upwardly inthe position shown in Fig. 3. 'Ihe bottom of the cylinder is aperturedto receive the piston rod 28 which is provided with ai packingcompressible by the adjusting nut 2li. The lower end of the rod 23 isoircumferentially grooved at 3G and is seated in a recess formed in theguide block 3l, the pin 32 extending into the block and the groove 30 toprevent removal.

The guide block 3l as shown in Fig. 5, has its nished face riding on thefinished surface 2d of the bracket portion 24 and strips 33 and 3ft aresecured on opposite sides of the edge portions of the bracket 24providing ways overlying the flanged end portions 35 o1 the guide block3l as will be seen more clearly in Fig. 5. This guide block ill, due tothe reoiprocation of the piston, rides vertically in these ways. Thepunch 36 is oval in forni inv end view as shown in Fig. 5 and has acircular shank 3l secured in a block 38 which in turn is secured as bymeans of screws 39 to the guide block 3l. The usual stripper plate 40has an aperture to receive the punch as will be understood from Fig. 2and this plate 40 has pins 4| and 42 at its opposite end which extendupwardly through the guide block and is there provided with a. head 43which limits the distance to which the stripper plate may be positionedbelow the guide block. Springs 44 are provided on these pins 42 which inthe punching operation wherein the punch enters the die 45,

indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 3, raise the plate 40 from lowermostposition and as the punch is withdrawn the springs force it outwardlyand strips the punched metal from the punch end. This is the usualstripper plate now used with the ordinary punch and die set.

When the punch is in the position shown in Fig. 3, manipulation of thepiston valve 9 by the handle l0 to the position shown in Fig. 8 appliespressure through the conduit 6' raising the piston from the positionshown in Fig. -3 and thereafter when another piece of material to bepierced is lfender 46 indicated by dotted lines.

positioned over the die the valve is changed to the position shown inFig 7 and pressure is applied to the line 5i to the head of the pistonforcing the same on the piercing movement as will be understood from theprevious description of the hydraulic circuit.

The punch is also well adapted to be used in groups for special purposesonly one of which is illustrated in Fig. 6 showing the several punchesarranged for piercing the edge of an automobile For this purpose, Iutilize a frame element 41 for supporting the units, which may be of anyconvenient form for any specialpurpose. In this particular use some ofthe punches are positioned in one plane as for instance the punch unitsa, b, c, d, e and f. Others may be positioned at a right angle theretoas for instance the unit g at the top\of Fig. 6 or the three unitspositioned vertically as at h, i and j at the bottom left side of Fig.6. Others may be turned practically at a right angle to these h, i and:i units as shown by dotted lines k, l and m or at other angularrelationship as indicated at n in Fig. 6.

With a group of punches as described, the conduit 5 is connected to thetop of each of the cylinders of the group there being a branch conduit5b for the group lc, l and m. Likewise the other conduit E connects withthe bottoms of the cylinders of the group as indicated and the branch 6bis to be understood as extending to the bottoms of the cylinders k, land m. These conduits may be flexible to permit change in the spacing orposition of the respective units. Thus, with the valve set as shown inFig. 6, pressure is applied through the conduit 6 and 6b to the bottomof the cylinders of the group and oil in the tops of the pistons of thegroup is returned through the conduit 5 or 5 to the return line l. Byreversing the position of the piston .valve to correspond to that shownin Fig. 7, preswhich are to be understood as being supported by theelement indicated by the line 49. The edge of the work to be piercedbeing introduced over these dies in the proper place, the valve is movedfrom the position in which the punches are retracted as in Fig. 8 to theposition shown in Fig. 7 and pressure applied simultaneously upon thetops of the pistons of each of the punch units of the group. 'I'he punchis thus forced on its piercing stroke and then returned by shifting thevalve again to the position ,shown in Fig. 8 retracting the punchwhereupon a succeeding piece of work may be introduced upon the elementor anvil 49.

It is obvious that these punch piercing units may be placed altogetherdiiierently from what is disclosed herein as may be required by theshape of the'plece to be pierced but, in any case, the punches of thegeneral structure described are connected up with the conduits after themanner herein disclosed to secure a reciprocation of the punchhydraulically. I have here shown a manual control for causing pressureto be applied to one side and then to the other of the piston handlingthe punches but the invention is not restricted to manual control as insome characters of punching operation a single 2,lil.2,158

or a number of piercing units may be so set that material isautomatically fed to the same under which conditionthe valve control maybe timed with the movement 4of the work piece subsequent .to eachpiercing stroke and withdrawal of the punch from the work.

From the foregoing description it is believed evident that my improvedpiercing punch is simple in its general construction and is readilyoperated by use ofthe hydraulic pressure to reciprocate the punch inrespect to die or anvil element. and that the various objects of theinvention are attained by -the structure described.

Having thus briey described my invention, its utility and mode ofoperation, what I claim and desireto secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States is Y l. A punch and die set for piercing a series of holesin a work piece comprising a series of punches and a complemental seriesof dies, a frame member having seats vfor each punch and die unitarranged in various angles and in various planes and permitting themounting of the respective punch and die units in position on the framefor the piercing of holes as may be required in various portions of thework, each punch unit including a cylinder, a piston reciprocabletherein, a piston rod extending-from the end of the cylinder, and apunch movable by the rod, means for applying iiuid under pressure to theseveral punch units, comprising a conduit having branches extending tothe upper end of the cylinder of each unit. and a second conduit havingbranches extending to the lower end of the cylinder of each unit, a pumphaving a discharge conduitfor supplying iiuid under pressure, valvemeans operable to connect thesald discharge conduit of the pumpalternately tothe rst named conduit and then to the other, and a returnline to the pump opening to the valve means, movement of the Valve toopen the rst named conduit to the pump discharge conduit opening theother conduit to the return line.

arranged to position the respective punch and die elements in therequired plane for punching the work portions, said punch elements beingadapted for operationby hydraulic pressure, means for supplying fluidunder pressure to alternately move the punches in the piercing strokeand then to withdraw the same, said means including ilexible conduitscommon to the several punch units and permitting within the length ofthe conduits between the successive punch units a practically universalvariation in angular relationship to thereby permit the punch units tobe. positioned ln the different planes as may be required for thepiercing of the work.

3. A punch and die set for use in piercing a piece of work havingportions thereof requiring piercing arranged in different planes and indifferent angular relationships, comprising a series of punch elementsand a series of die elements complemental thereto, means for applyinghydraulic pressure to the punch and die elements to cause the piercingof the workvand the withdrawal of the punches therebetween, said meansincluding flexible conduits common to the several punches permittingWithin the length of the conduits between successive units a practicallyuniversal variation in angular relationship of the respective units tothereby permit the iexibly lconnected punch and die units to bevariously positioned upon a frame having seats therefor and to beremoved therefrom and positioned upon another frame having seatsdifferently arranged from that of the first frame.

4. A punch and die set for piercing a series of holes in a work piece,comprising a series of punches and a complemental series of dies, aframe member having seats for each punch and die unit arranged atvarious angles and in variousplanes permitting the mounting of the punchand die units in position on the frame for the piercing of holes as maybe required in various portions of the work, means for applying iiuidunder pressure to the several punch units, comprising a. pressure supplyconduit and a return n RALPH B. GORI-IAM.

